Get ready to dance with your sweetheart with this popular love song arranged by Josh McInnish for strings. This lively arrangement will take orchestra members back to the early 20th century and bring back those golden days to the elder generation. A wonderful opportunity to celebrate multiple holidays throughout the year including Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. End your next concert with a romantic touch!
Original Item#: RWS-2172-00
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McInnish captures the infectious charm of this early 20th-century standard without oversimplifying the arrangement. The writing sits perfectly in the string orchestra idiom, allowing players at this level to sound genuinely polished while the melodic richness keeps even experienced ensembles engaged. It's the kind of piece that generates immediate audience warmth and genuine smiles from your string section.
What to expect
A musical time capsule that invites the listener into a ballroom of the 1910s. The arrangement dances with easy elegance, warm and inviting without a trace of sentimentality, letting the melody sing naturally over supportive harmonic textures.
Who it's for
String orchestras at the intermediate to early advanced level who want accessible repertoire with genuine musical substance. Directors seeking concert closers that appeal to diverse audiences, from students discovering string repertoire to patrons who recognize this familiar standard.
How to get the most out of it
Establish a clear rhythmic foundation in the cellos and basses; their steady pulse will anchor the piece's lilting character across all four movements.
Shape the melody with gentle dynamic waves rather than rigid crescendos, allowing the romantic character to emerge naturally from phrase to phrase.
Balance vibrato in the upper strings to brighten the tone without losing the warm, nostalgic quality that defines this arrangement.
Use the conductor score to map out tutti sections and solo passages, ensuring smooth transitions between parts when the melody passes from violins to violas or cellos.
How to use it
This works beautifully as a finale for Valentine's Day or Mother's Day concerts, or as a charming closing piece for spring pops programs. You can also program it alongside other light concert works to balance a more serious repertoire slate without losing musical integrity.
Skills your students will build
Playing with sustained vibrato in a lyrical, romantic context
Managing dynamic shaping within phrase structures
Balancing melody and accompaniment voices in an ensemble setting
Reading and executing parts written for string orchestra texture
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